Blair says WMD 'may never be found'

BBC | July 6 2004

Tony Blair has said Iraq's weapons of mass destruction "may never be found".
Mr Blair said he had "to accept we haven't found them and we may never find them" - but that did not mean Saddam Hussein had not been a threat.

He said the former Iraqi leader had been in breach of UN resolutions and his weapons may have been "removed, hidden or destroyed".

Mr Blair also said US security concerns had to be tackled before British detainees at Guantanamo Bay are freed.

'Clear evidence'

Mr Blair was being grilled by senior MPs in his twice yearly appearance before the Commons Liaison Committee.

He said Saddam Hussein had previously had weapons of mass destruction and there was "very clear evidence" of his desire to develop and use them.

But he added: "I have to accept we haven't found them and we may never find them, We don't know what has happened to them.

"They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed."

Mr Blair mounted a robust defence of Britain's relationship with the US, saying other countries would "give their eye-teeth" to be in a similar position.

He said "progress" on security issues in Libya, Iran and North Korea would not have been possible "without Iraq".

But he added: "If I did not believe that the security of this country was enhanced by taking the action in Iraq, I would not have done it, irrespective of how many compliments the president (George Bush) paid me."

He also said he believed Guantanamo Bay was "an anomaly that at some point has to be brought to an end".